ABSTRACT
Although basically the creation of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Merlin has his roots in earlier traditions. He combines elements of Myrddin, the Welsh bard and prophet; Lailoken, a Scottish wildman of the woods; and Ambrosius Aurelianus, whom Gildas and Nennius refer to as a British military leader and worker of wonders. Geoffrey links the prophetic and wonder-working traditions by saying that Merlin was also called Ambrosius.1 The Merlin we know today generally descends in a direct line from Geoffrey’s character, as developed by Thomas Malory and as adapted by a number of nineteenth-and twentiethcentury authors to their own situations and concerns.
